Suction apparatus



Feb. 9 1926. 1,572,847

H. PARKER SUGTION APPARATUS p, F119@ 15510.12. 1921 2 shets-shee1 1 rfid Feb. 9 1926., H. PARKER sUCToN APPARATUS 2' sheets-sheet 2 Filed Dec. 12. 1921 WN Si ww Patented eb. 9, 1.926.

*UNITED STATES 1,572,847 PATENT OFFICE.

HOWARD PARKER, OF BERLIN, HAMPSHIRE, ASSIGNOR T0l BROWN COMPANY,

` OF BERLIN, NEW HAMPSHIRE, A CORPORATION OF NEW HAMPSHIRE.

SUCTION i APPARATUS.

Application filed December 12, 1921. Serial No. 521,895.

To all whom t'may concern:-

Be it known that I, HOWARD PARKER, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Berlin, county 'of Coos, State of New Hampshire, Khave invented certain new and useful Improvements in a Suction Apparatus, of which the following is a specication.

' It is the common practice in the art of paper making to suspend particles of. paper pulp in a liquid and collect them on an apron or felt in the form of a wet sheet or `web which is passed between rollsof one sort or another, depending on the' manner or purpose of manipulating the pulp. In passing'the wet felt and the web of pulp thereon between the rolls, some of the watercarried thereby 1s vsqueezed out and unless.

properly taken care of will accumulate and setup a back pressure in the angle at the entrance side of the rolls resulting in discoloration, non-uniformity, wrinkling, breakage or other faults in the pulp web. The accumulationv of water at the entrance angle between the squeeze rolls is particularly objectionable where one of the rolls is in the form of a mandrel onto which the web of pulp is wound ina series of convolutions in order to build up a tube. In thus winding the web of pulp to form a tube, it is desirable, in order to facilitate the felting of the bres in the successive convolutions and t-hus produce amore or less homogeneous tube free from liability to split or show laminations, to wind the web of pulp onto the mandrel in as wet a condition and under as Agreat a pressure as are practical. however, the greater the pressure with which the pulp is squeezed between the mandrel and its cooperating roll, the greater is the tendency for the water to accumulate at the entrance angle bet-Ween the rolls, and this accumulaytion of water not only causes faults in the web as it is brought up to the winding point, but also tends `to soften the pulp already Wound onto 'the mandrel and results in a i distorted and seamed or wrinkled tube wall.

gandpressed. By means of the present in vent-ion, the web of pulp as it is laid onto Y the mandrel may contain a greater percentage of water than has heretofore been prac,-

plus water which is squeezed out causing faults in the web or injuring the tube.

The device of the present `invention will here be described with reference to its use in connection with a tube winding machine and to which use it has peculiar adaptability, but it is to be understood thatthe present disclosure is by way of illustration only and is not to be taken as restrictive of my conception. Furthermore, while I have shown but one embodimentof my invention in the accompanying drawings, this showing is by wayA of eXemplification only, the invention being susceptible of various modifications .a web forming machine and so much of a tube winding machine as is necessary to illustrate the application of the present in- 'vention.

andchanges in construction and arrange- 2 ment which would be within the spirit of Fig. 2 is af diagrammatic view'showing developed in `a plane between the suction.

box andthe lineof squeeze between the rolls.

`Fig. 34 is'a'n elevational view of the suction box looking at that surface thereof which lies against the base roll.

Fig. L is a sectional view taken on line` 4,-4 of Fig. 3, and

Fig.. 5 is a sectional view taken on line 5-5 of Fig.

In Fig. 1 of the accompanying drawings the felt a takes the pulp from the cylinder mold b yof the web forming machine and carries it `to the mandrel c positioned bew tween the base rolls cl, cZ,.and a press roll e of the tube winding machine. The web forming machine may, of course, be of any suitable construction, that shown in the drawings being by way ofillustration onlv. The pulp may be on a wire when the pulp isvintended to form a-sheet. Only a portion of the tube winding machine is illustrated as the particular type thereof is im; material so far as the prevent invention is concerned. .As the wet web 'of pulp passes between they base roll d and the mandrel c,

it leaves the felt A andis wound convolutively upon the mariti te intothe form of a tube.

For convenience in description it may be stated h/ere that, in one manner of speaking, the mandrel c and the base roll cl constitute a pair of squeeze rolls between which the felt with the web of pulp thereon is passed and pressed. The entrance angle between the squeeze rolls is denoted by the arrow g and the line of squeeze (that is the line along which the web of pulp and felt are pressed between the squeeze rolls)` is indicated by the letter h. lt will be noted that the felt a is lapped onto the base roll d, as at c, in advance of the `vline of sqnee/nef7 In accordance with the prevent invention the suction box M, which ot' itself embodies features of novelty and advantage, is positioned at the lap of the felt on to the base roll d, and this suction box, the base roll (l andthe felt with the web of pulp thereon are so arranged and coordinated that the force of suction set up is etl'ective in carrying away the water pressed out at the line of squeeze, thus practically preventing accumulation of water in the entrance angle g.

The ysuction box is greater in length than the width of the felt and has a chamber 11 from which air and water are drawn through the outlets 1:?I at the ends of theA box. The front or forward face of the suction box is curved concentrically to and lits against the periphery of the base roll d. The top surface 14 of the suction box is substantially at a tangent tothe base roll d and meets the forward face of the suction box in a narrow lip or nozzle 15 which is less in length than' the width of the felt a and the web of pulp thereon. Leading from the forward face of the suction box to the cham ber 11 is a narrow throat or slot 16. Ex tending transversely across the forward face of the suction box and positioned beneath the throat 16 is-a packing 17- closely engaging the base roll el and forming a substantially fluid tight joint therewith. Leading from the lip 15 to the slot 16 are diagonally 'disposed or inclined channels 19. 'The surface 2Q, in which these channels are .disposed` closely lits the circumference of the base roll d. Positioned adjacent each side edge of the forward face of the suction box and extendingfrom the packing 17 to beyond the lip 15 is a packing` 22 which 'fits against the base rol. It will be noted that the upper end of each of the packings 22 tapers down to a point and provides a sealing member completely filling the angle between the side edge of the felt and the base roll clear up to the line of. lap. As previously stated, the lip 15 of the suction box is lesser in length than the widths of the felt a and the wet web of pulp thereonv The side edges of the felty a and the pulp web thereon overlap and ride on the sealing' meinbers'QB. The'pa-ckings 22 and 17 form fluid tight seals along each side edge of the lor water can onlyv be drawn into the suction box from or through the felt and the web of pulp.

A possible explanation of the operation of the arrangement des'ribed may now be given with particular reference to Fig. 2, the showing ot this ligure being' diagrammatic and in some respects exaggerated for coiiveliicnce inillustration.

'l`be felt rz picks up the pulp from the vlindeinmold l; in a heavil r\y saturated condition and carries it, more or less in this condition over the. lip r15 and the air seal niembers 223 ot' the suction box. ln this condition the pulp libres are loosely felled on the felt, that is to say the)v are more or less held apart in a state. of semi-suspension in the water, so that the web is somewhat porous or pervious. On reaching the lip 15 of the suction box, the action of the vacuum within this box is immediately brought to bear to draw out, at least, solne oi' the excess water from that portion ot the felt and web located between the sealingl members 223. As a result the felt libres of that portion of the 'pulp web which passes directly over the lip are more closely7 held together thus creating a sliglitly tighter mat of pulp which is, rela-l tively speaking, more air tight than it was previous to the extraction of this excess water (although it still possesses a high percentage of water).

The border portions of the felt and web which pass over the sealing members 23 are not directly acted upon by the vacuum exerted at the lip of the suction box. Thus the web of pulp on the felt is divided into three bands or areas-one in the center consisting of a slightly consolidated Inat of pulp fibres, from which at least some of the excess water has been extracted to form a slightly moreiimpervious wall to the passage of air through its texture; and a border zone at each side of the web carrying in their travel from the suction box to the line of squeezejan excess of water enmeshed in the pulp deposit. The excess water which remains in the border portions or zones of the felt and web of pulp results in prac'- tically fluid tight seals between these borders `and the base roll d which bar the ingress of air under the edges of the felt'.

The ellect of the vacuum set up in the suction device on the water carried by the felt and the web of pulp graphically shown in Fig. 2. It will be evident that the force of suction which is present under the ,felt and web will tend to draw out excess water from the border zones so that these Zones gradually decrease in width towards effectively seal the ends of thel the line of squeeze. It may be assumed that if there were no back pressure resulting at the line of squeeze, the border zones would be partially exhausted of excess water along the line x, at such a rate ofspeed that a particle of excess water .z3 at the very edge of the web of pulp will not be exhausted from the border zone before this particle of waterreaches the line of squeeze and thus the air seal along each side v.of the web is maintained from the line of the lip of the suction box clear up to the line of squeeze. In actual practice it is found that the water whichis pressed out at the line of squeeze andiows underneath the central portion of the web to the suction box, is forced outwardly towards the edges of the felt and this action counteracts thetendency of the force of suc'- tion to entirely exhaust the border portion of excess water. The dotted lines y represent the direction of the hydraulic force exerted by the squeeze to the rolls. 1

As the pulp deposit on the felt in movin,D forward arrives at the line of squeeze between the mandrel and the base roll d,-tl1e heavy pressure exerted therebetween forces an additional amount of water out of the pulp web and this water tends to back up or accumulate in the entrance angle g. In analyzing the action which takes place it may be assumed thatthe water which is pressed out comprises three portions, the first portion being that which is `forced under the felt and over the surface of theroll d; the

' second portion being that which is forced back into the felt and web intermediate the line of squeeze; and the third portion, that which tends to collect in the entrance angle g. The first portion is forced back under the felt whiclrhas been partially exhausted of the excess water. The second portion tends to enter and distend the pulp web by floating or forcing the fibres apart thus recreating a porous zone immediately adjacent vthe line of squeeze. The result is that a water channel is provided between the underside of tlie felt and the base roll interdraulic force set up at the line of squeeze l tends to force the water back through this of the suction box draws the water through channel, and the suction effective at the lip this channel. vNow, smce at least some of the excess ,water has been withdrawn from the lweb of vpulp between the lip or nozzle of the suction' box andthe line of squeeze making the pulp l between its side edges slightly impervious to water; and sincethere is an excess amount of water in the web immediately adj-acent the line of squeeze, making the web adja-v cent that line slightlyjpervious or porous, the resistance offered b y the Web of pulp to the passage of air and water therethrough is The felt and web are moved less immediately adjacent to the line of squeeze than elsewhere. The result is the force of the vacuum will draw the water which tends to accumulate in the entrance angle g down through the web and felt into the channel between the web and the base roll and back into the suction box from which it is carried away. Thus, the accumulation of water in the entrance. angle g and the injurious effects thereof on a web and tube are entirely obviated. Furthermore, the tube, when the winding thereof is finished, is drier than would be the case if water were allowed to accumulate in the entrance/angle. It' is to be understood, of course that only a part of the excess water is extracted from the -felt before it reaches the lihe of squeeze. When the web of pulp reaches the line of squeeze, it still has a relatively high percentage of water which insures roper union or interfelting of the successive convolutions wound onto the mandre-l', .which means vthat a tube wall is producjed which is uniform and free from the liability of laminating or splitting.

ll. That improvement in the formation of bodies by winding a Wet web of pulp onto a mandrel which consists in passing a wet web of pjulp on a conveyor between an imperforate base roll yand a mandrel, eonvolutely winding the web of pul onto the latter, and sucking water from tie pulp web at a point between the conveyor and the surface of said roll.

2. That improvement in the formation of bodies by winding awet web of pulp onto a mandrel which consists in passing a wet web of pulp on a porous conveyor between a mandrel and an imperforate base roll, convolutely winding the web of pulp onto the mandrel, and withdrawing water from the web of pulp over the peripheral surface of said roll.

3. That improvement in the formationy of bodies by winding a wet web of pulp onto a mandrel which consists in passing a wet web of pulp on a conveyor between a mandrel and a base roll after it has been lapped onto the latter, -convolutely winding the web of pulp onto the mandrel, and withdrawing water pressed out immediately adjacent the mandrel back under the conveyor and over the surface of the base roll.

v 4. That improvement inthe formation of bodies by windinga web of pulp onto a mandrel which consists in passing a Wet web of pulp on a porous conveyor between an imperforate base roll and the mandrel after' it has been lapped onto the roll, convolutely .winding the web of pulp onto the mandrel, and applying suction at the lap of the conveyor onto the roll for'withdrawing water from immediate adjacent the line of `squeeze between the mandrel and roll.

' web conveyor passing between said mandrel conveyor passing tlliereabout, a

and roll; and a suction device positioned between said conveyor and the peripheral surface of said roll for withdrawing water li'oin the web. l

7. In combination; means for winding a web ot pulp into a tube and including an imperl'orate base roll, a mandrel and a pulpweb conveyor passing between said mandrel and roll after it is lapped ont-lie latter, and means for sucking the water pressed out at the line of squeeze back towards the line of lap.

8. In combination, mean for winding a web of pulp into a tube and including an imperforate base roll, a mandrel and a pulp yweb conveyor passing between said mandrel and roll; and suction means positioned at the lap of the conveyor and said roll for sucking excess water from the web between its side edges.

9. That improvement in the .art of paper making which consists in passing a wet web of pulp on a porous ,conveyor about a roll, applying suction to said web in the space ab the lap of the conveyor onto the roll, and employing the conveyor and web for sealing the ends of `the space in which the suction is applied.

10. -That improvement in the art of paper making which consists in passing a wet web of pulp on a porous conveyor about a roll,

'applying suction to said web between its edges at a point between said conveyor and the surface of said roll, and employing the wet borders of the web and conveyor for sealing the space in which suction is applied.

11. In combination, a roll, a pulp web suction.

means positioned at the lap of said conveyor on said roll, andmeans for preventing excess water from being withdrawn from the borders-of said web and conveyor.

, 12.l In combination, a roll,a pulp web oo nveyor passing thereabout, and a suction d e.

vice positioned at the lap of said conveyor onto said roll and havingl sealing members engaging the roll and supporting the borders of tlie conveyor up to the line of lap. y

13. In combination, a roll, a p ulp web conveyor passing tl'iereabout, a suction device having a narrow suction nozzle positioned the ends of said nozzle engaging said roll and supporting the borders otl said conveyor substantiallyup tothe line ot' lap.

14:. In combination, a roll, a pulp web' from the web.

15. In combination, a roll, a pulp web conveyor passing thereabout, a suction box positioned in the angle of the lap of the conveyor onto said roll and having a surface fitting against the peripheralsurface ot' said roll, and a channel in one of said surfaces leading from said angle of lap to the suction. space of said box.

16. In combination, a roll; a pulp .web

conveyor passing thereabout; and a suction box having a face iitting against said roll, a suction chamber, and inclined channels in saidface leading from the angle of the lap ofthe conveyor on said roll to said-chan'iber.

17. A suction deviceliaving a body por 'tion provided with a face adapted to engage against 'the periphery of a roll,"a chamber opening into said face, and Channels in said face leading from one edge thereof into said chamber.

18. `A suction device having aibody portin provided with a face adapted to engage against the periphery of a base roll, a lip-at one edge of said surface, a chamber opening into said face below said lip, a channel in said face leading from said lip to said chamber, and packings along the sides of said face i and b'elow the opening of said chamber into said face and adapted to closely fit against the roll.

19. That improvement in the art of paper making which consists in passing a wet web of pulp on a porous conveyor about a roll, sucking some of the excess water out of the web between its edges at the lap of the conveyor on the roll, and maintaining excess water in the edgerborders iii the weband .conveyor for preventing air from flowing under the side edges of `the conveyor while on the roll.

Q0. That improvement in the of pulp on a porous conveyor about a roll,

lsqueezing out the excess water from the in the angle formed at the lap ot' the con- .squeezing out of the web excess water along veyor on said roll, and sealing members at a line spaced .from the line of lap,

art of paper Y making which consists in passing a wet web` and suck^l30 ing the water ,pressed out at the line `of squeeze back between the roll and the conv` veyor and intermediate the side borders of tbe latter.

22. That improvement in tlie aito paper making which consists in passing a wet web l of pulp on a conveyor about' a roll, squeezing out of the webexcess water along a line spaced vfrom the line of lap, maintaining an excess of water in the' border portions of tlie` web betweenthe line of lap and the line of-squeeze, and sucking the water pressed out at the line ot squeeze .back under the conveyor between its border portions to the angle of lap'.

23. That. improvement in the art of papen making which consists in passing a Wet web of pulp on a porous conveyor about a roll,

squeezing out excess water from the web along aline spaced from the line of lap,v

sucking water from tlie web as it is lapped onto the roll, and withdrawing the water pressed out'at tlie'line of squeeze back under ,the conveyor to the angle of lap.

24. In combination, a pair of squeeze rolls, a pulp lweb conveyor passing between said rolls'after being lapped on one of them, and suction means spaced rearwardly of the line of squeeze for sucking Water pressed out at the line of squeeze back over' the surface of said roll.

25. In combination, a lpair of squeeze rolls, a porous Web carrying conveyor passing between said rolls after being lapped on one of them, and suction means, ositioned at the lap of the conveyor onto said roll for sucking excess water from the web and the conveyor between their side edges.

26. In combination, a pair lof vsqueeze rolls, a. pulp web carrying conveyor passing between said rolls after it is lapped onrone of them, a suction device positioned at the `lap of tliepconveyor onto said roll and lieving a'nozzle of less width than 'said con' veyor, and means for moving the web at such speed tliat excess Water is not exhausted from the-borders of the'web between the,

line of lap and the line of squeeze.

inl

27.111 combination, a pair of squeeze rolls, a porous web carrying conveyor pass- `ing between said rolls after it is lapped on HOWARD PARKER. 

